March 9, 2015 - Actor Harrison Ford, continues
to recover after he had to make an emergency
crash landing in his 1942 Ryan ST-3KR aircraft, N53178, on
Thursday. Ford had just departed the Santa
Monica Municipal Airport, California, when he
contacted air traffic control to report engine
problems.

Ford attempted to return back to the airport,
with a rapid loss of altitude the Ryan ST-3KR
aircraft clipped trees and crashed landed at the
Penmar Golf Course in the
Venice
neighborhood of
Los Angeles.

The 72 year old Star Wars and Indiana Jones
actor remains hospitalized at the Ronald Reagan
UCLA Medical Center, he was the sole occupant
onboard his World War II aircraft. Ford received
non life threatening head, facial injuries,
broke ankle and a possible fractured pelvis.

Ford began flight training in the 1960s and
received his private pilot certificate with an
instrument rating in airplane single and multi
engine land and rotorcraft-helicopter. Ford is
know for his contributions with the Young Eagles
program when in 2004, he became the chairman of
the Young Eagles program of the Experimental
Aircraft Association (EAA). He remained in that
post until 2009.

Back in October 1999, Ford was involved in a
helicopter crash. At the time, Ford was on a
training flight in a Bell 206L4 LongRanger helicopter (N36R) over the LakePiru
riverbed near
Santa Clarita,
California. While performing
powered recovery autorotation, Ford allowed the
helicopter to descend to low to the ground to
perform this maneuver and as a result the
helicopter hit the ground and flipping to its
side. NeitherFord or his instructor were seriously
injured. However, the helicopter did receive
major damaged.